Prediction of Eg18 antigen epitopes of Echinococcus granulosus

Objective To predict and analyze B cell and T cell epitopes of Echinococcus granulosus Eg18,and to provide basic information for screening protective antigens of Echinococcus granulosus.Methods The physicochemical property of Eg18 antigen was predicted using Expasy system and the secondary and tertiary structure of Eg18 antigen were predicted using online software Predict Protein.The secondary structure,hydrophilic,surface accessibility index,and flexibility index of B cell epitopes were predicted with online software ABCpred and LEPS;the restrictive T cell epitopes of major histocompatibility complex-I (MHC-Ⅰ) type HLA-A0201was predicted using SYFPEITHI and IEDB software.Results The ratio of total amino acid residues involved in alpha helix of Eg18 antigen secondary structure are 98.1% and that of in random coil are 1.9%.No β-folding was observed in the special structure of the antigen.Four ranges of animo acid sequence (30-41,55-71,110-1261,and 36-144) in Eg18 antigen were recognized as the possible B cell antigen epitopes of Eg18 and another four ranges (17-27,32-41,61-72,and 96-105) might be the possible T cell antigen epitopes of Eg18.Conclusion Four B cell epitopes and four T cell epitopes of Echinococcus granulosus Eg18 were predicted using bioinformatics technology,which provide a reference for further research on the Eg18 antigen.